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en-usPhys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine.MATHUSLA—a new idea proposed to spot long-lived particles at LHCA small team of physicists that includes Jessie Shelton of the University of Illinois and David Curtin of the University of Toronto has written a paper and presented it at this year's American Physical Society meeting outlining a possible way to detect particles emitted from the Large Hadron Collider. Their idea involves constructing a new building near the LHC to house a suite of long-lived particle detectors.https://phys.org/news/2018-05-mathuslaa-idea-long-lived-particles-lhc.html
General Physics Thu, 24 May 2018 09:37:35 EDTnews446373443Study shows link between urbanization and changes in body size of animalsA large international team of researchers has found a link between urbanization and changes in animal body size. In their paper published in the journal Nature, the group describes their study of animals living in both urban and rural areas in Belgium and what they found.https://phys.org/news/2018-05-link-urbanization-body-size-animals.html
Ecology Thu, 24 May 2018 08:30:01 EDTnews446362825Team tests feasibility of EmDrive and Mach Effect ThrustersA team of German physicists with TU Dresden has independently tested the feasibility of the EmDrive and Mach Effect Thrusters. They have presented their findings at this year's Aeronautics and Astronautics Association of France's Space Propulsion conference.https://phys.org/news/2018-05-team-feasibility-emdrive-mach-effect.html
Space Exploration Wed, 23 May 2018 09:40:01 EDTnews446286690How can you tell if a quantum memory is really quantum?Quantum memories are devices that can store quantum information for a later time, which are usually implemented by storing and re-emitting photons with certain quantum states. But often it's difficult to tell whether a memory is storing quantum or merely classical information. In a new paper, physicists have developed a new test to verify the quantum nature of quantum memories.https://phys.org/news/2018-05-quantum-memory.html
Quantum Physics Wed, 23 May 2018 09:30:01 EDTnews446262995Multiple gamma-ray emission regions detected in the blazar 3C 279Using very long baseline interferometry (VLBI), astronomers have investigated the magnetic field topology of the blazar 3C 279, uncovering the presence of multiple gamma-ray emission regions in this source. The discovery was presented May 11 in a paper published on arXiv.org.https://phys.org/news/2018-05-multiple-gamma-ray-emission-regions-blazar.html
Astronomy Wed, 23 May 2018 09:10:01 EDTnews446280232Review of biodegradable bags shows not enough is known to judge if they are safe for environmentA team of researchers from the U.K. Austria and France has found that not enough work has been done to determine if biodegradable shopping bags are actually environmentally friendly. In their paper published in the journal Royal Society Open Science, the group describes their survey regarding biodegradable bag research efforts and what they found.https://phys.org/news/2018-05-biodegradable-bags-safe-environment.html
Environment Wed, 23 May 2018 08:47:47 EDTnews446284056Study shows people rarely express gratitude to those closest to themAn international team of researchers has found that people around the world rarely say "thank you" to those closest to them. In their paper published in the journal Royal Society Open Science, the group describes their study of expressing gratitude and what they found.https://phys.org/news/2018-05-people-rarely-gratitude-closest.html
Social Sciences Wed, 23 May 2018 08:30:01 EDTnews446280562Giant molecules shaped like Kandinsky circles are toxic to MRSA bacteriaNested structures are commonly found throughout nature and art, whether they be in the form of tree rings, Russian dolls, or Wassily Kandinsky's famous 1913 abstract painting Color Study: Squares with Concentric Circles. Now in a new study, chemists have constructed giant nested supramolecules or "supramolecular Kandinsky circles," some of which are more than 30,000 times heavier than a hydrogen atom. The scientists demonstrate that these supramolecules are highly toxic to methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), potentially providing a new method for fighting these deadly pathogens.https://phys.org/news/2018-05-giant-molecules-kandinsky-circles-toxic.html
Biochemistry Tue, 22 May 2018 11:20:01 EDTnews446206012Bonobo females found to protect and support a female giving birthA team of researchers from the University of Pisa and CNRS/Université Claude Bernard Lyon has observed captive female bonobos helping one of their own give birth. In their paper published in the journal Evolution and Human Behavior, Elisa Demuru, Pier Francesco Ferrari and Elisabetta Palagi describe what they witnessed, referring to it as a type of midwifery.https://phys.org/news/2018-05-bonobo-females-female-birth.html
Plants & Animals Tue, 22 May 2018 08:40:01 EDTnews446196360New hydrogel developed to remove tape from centuries old drawingA team of researchers from the University of Florence, Consorzio Interuniversitario per lo Sviluppo dei Sistemi a Grande Interfase and Paper Conservator has developed a new type of hydrogel for safely removing pressure tape from paper. In their paper published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the group describes developing the gel and using it to remove a stretch of tape from a centuries-old paper drawing.https://phys.org/news/2018-05-hydrogel-tape-centuries.html
Materials Science Tue, 22 May 2018 08:30:02 EDTnews446196254Stronger-than-binary correlations experimentally demonstrated for the first timeFor the first time, physicists have experimentally demonstrated ternary—rather than binary—quantum correlations between entangled objects. The results show that the quantum measurement process cannot be described as a binary process (having two possible outcomes), but rather stronger-than-binary ternary measurements (which have three possible outcomes) should be considered in order to fully understand how the quantum measurement process works.https://phys.org/news/2018-05-stronger-than-binary-experimentally.html
Quantum Physics Mon, 21 May 2018 09:30:01 EDTnews446093603Two bright high-redshift quasars discoveredAstronomers have detected two new bright quasars at a redshift of about 5.0. The newly found quasi-stellar objects (QSOs) are among the brightest high-redshift quasars known to date. The finding was presented May 9 in a paper published on the arXiv pre-print repository.https://phys.org/news/2018-05-bright-high-redshift-quasars.html
Astronomy Mon, 21 May 2018 09:00:03 EDTnews446104544New evidence for existence of Planet NineA large international team of researchers has found what they are describing as more evidence of the existence of Planet Nine. In their paper posted on the arXiv preprint server, the group describes the behavior of a newly discovered distant object as suggestive of an influence of a large planet.https://phys.org/news/2018-05-evidence-planet.html
Astronomy Mon, 21 May 2018 08:50:02 EDTnews446110675Magnonic interferometer paves way toward energy-efficient information processing devicesResearchers have designed an interferometer that works with magnetic quasiparticles called magnons, rather than photons as in conventional interferometers. Although magnon signals have discrete phases that normally cannot be changed continuously, the magnonic interferometer can generate a continuous change of the magnon signal. In the future, this ability could be used to design magnonic integrated circuits and other magnonic devices that overcome some of the limitations facing their electronic counterparts.https://phys.org/news/2018-05-magnonic-interferometer-paves-energy-efficient-devices.html
General Physics Fri, 18 May 2018 11:10:01 EDTnews445858012Wisdom of the protists; electron flow tricks for controlling cancerAll schoolchildren learn that the difference between eukaryotes and prokaryotes has something to do with a nucleus. This is usually around the same time they learn that the mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell. The real difference between these two life forms, however, has more to do with how they control the flow of electrons to make their living, i.e., their electron transport chains going from donors to acceptors via redox reactions.https://phys.org/news/2018-05-wisdom-protists-electron-cancer.html
Cell & Microbiology Fri, 18 May 2018 09:30:01 EDTnews445848676A new way to make biaxial nematic phase liquid crystalsA team of researchers from the University of Colorado in the U.S. and Université Paris-Saclay, in France has developed a new way to make biaxial nematic phase liquid crystals. In their paper published in the journal Science, the group describes the technique they developed and possible uses for the results. Philippe Poulin, with CNRS, University of Bordeaux offers a Perspective piece on the work done by the team in the same journal issue.https://phys.org/news/2018-05-biaxial-nematic-phase-liquid-crystals.html
Materials Science Fri, 18 May 2018 08:33:16 EDTnews445851173Study of prepublication disclosure shows some do and some don'tA quartet of researchers affiliated with Harvard University, the University of Passau in Germany and the University of Missouri, has found that a majority of researchers disclose details about their research prior to publication. In their paper published on the open access site Science Advances, the researchers describe what their survey of a large number of scientists revealed.https://phys.org/news/2018-05-prepublication-disclosure-dont.html
Social Sciences Thu, 17 May 2018 08:45:50 EDTnews445765520Self-propelled mindless tiny robots work together to move a corralA team of researchers at the University of Bordeaux in France has found that tiny, mindless robots are able to work together to move a corral. In their paper published in the journal Physical Review Letters, the group describes their experiments and what they found.https://phys.org/news/2018-05-self-propelled-mindless-tiny-robots-corral.html
General Physics Wed, 16 May 2018 09:34:31 EDTnews445682017Are Rossby waves to blame for Earth's magnetic field drifting westward?A doctoral student at the University of Cambridge has come up with a possible explanation for the westward drift of the Earth's magnetic field. In his paper published in Proceedings of the Royal Society A, O.P. Bardsley suggests it may be due to Rossby waves generated in the Earth's core.https://phys.org/news/2018-05-rossby-blame-earth-magnetic-field.html
Earth Sciences Wed, 16 May 2018 08:30:01 EDTnews445673025Researchers determine chemical composition of two extremely metal-poor starsA group of scientists led by Avrajit Bandyopadhyay of the Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bangalore, has conducted chemical analysis of two bright, extremely metal-poor stars. The results of the analysis, presented May 6 in a paper published on arXiv.org, provide important insights into the nature of these stars, and could help astronomers better understand their origin.https://phys.org/news/2018-05-chemical-composition-extremely-metal-poor-stars.html
Astronomy Tue, 15 May 2018 09:10:06 EDTnews445589666New quantum probability rule offers novel perspective of wave function collapseQuantum theory is based heavily on probabilities, since measuring a quantum system doesn't produce the same outcome every time, but instead yields one of many outcomes that each occur with a certain probability. Now in a new paper, physicists have presented a new quantum probability rule for assigning probabilities to measurement outcomes, or events, that essentially combines two of the most important quantum probability rules (the Born rule and the wave function collapse rule) into one.https://phys.org/news/2018-05-quantum-probability-perspective-function-collapse.html
Quantum Physics Mon, 14 May 2018 09:30:02 EDTnews445503290Observations reveal complex environment of HD 50138Using European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope (VLT) European astronomers have uncovered a complex circumstellar environment of the star HD 50138. The finding, which could provide important clues about the evolutionary status of this star, was presented in a paper published May 3 on the arXiv pre-print repository.https://phys.org/news/2018-05-reveal-complex-environment-hd.html
Astronomy Mon, 14 May 2018 09:10:02 EDTnews445498362A chip that allows for two-dimensional quantum walksA team of researchers from Shanghai Jiao Tong University and the University of Science and Technology of China has developed a chip that allows for two-dimensional quantum walks of single photons on a physical device. In their paper published on the open access site, Science Advances the group describes the chip and why they believe developing it was important.https://phys.org/news/2018-05-chip-two-dimensional-quantum.html
Quantum Physics Mon, 14 May 2018 08:30:02 EDTnews445503483Mitochondria and the art of DNA maintenanceHumans have 46 chromosomes, and each one is capped at either end by repetitive sequences called telomeres. If you ask a biologist if humans have circular DNA, they are likely to say 'no.' That is because eukaryotic cell nuclei have linear chromosomes, while prokaryotes have circular nucleoids and plasmids. However, biologists also know that most of our cells have mitochondria that do, in fact, retain the circular DNA, the chromosome 'M,' which they inherited from their prokaryotic ancestors.https://phys.org/news/2018-05-mitochondria-art-dna-maintenance.html
Biotechnology Fri, 11 May 2018 10:00:01 EDTnews445240444Energy quantization enhances the performance of single-atom heat machinesPhysicists have demonstrated that energy quantization can improve the efficiency of a single-atom heat engine to exceed the performance of its classical counterpart. Energy quantization, in which the energy levels of a system occur only in discrete values, is a quintessential feature of quantum systems and differs from the continuous energy levels that occur in classical systems.https://phys.org/news/2018-05-energy-quantization-single-atom-machines.html
Quantum Physics Fri, 11 May 2018 09:30:01 EDTnews445226695An example of plasmons directly impacting moleculesA team of researchers from Japan, Korea and the U.S. has found a way to demonstrate an example of plasmons directly causing changes to a molecule. In their paper published in the journal Science, the group describes their technique and what they learned from it.https://phys.org/news/2018-05-plasmons-impacting-molecules.html
Materials Science Thu, 10 May 2018 08:50:02 EDTnews445160761DNA found in lake bottom offers historical clues regarding impact of an invasive speciesA team of researchers from France, Italy and Norway has found a natural historical record of the impact of an invasive species of rabbit on a remote Indian Ocean island. In their paper published on the open access site Science Advances, the researchers describe their efforts to learn more about the environmental impact of an invasive species.https://phys.org/news/2018-05-dna-lake-bottom-historical-clues.html
Ecology Thu, 10 May 2018 08:30:01 EDTnews445152819First early-type magnetic star in an eclipsing binary detectedAstronomers report the discovery of the first known early-type magnetic star in an eclipsing binary system. The finding, detailed in a paper published April 27 on the arXiv pre-print server, could have important implications for our understanding of the evolutionary process of binary stars.https://phys.org/news/2018-05-early-type-magnetic-star-eclipsing-binary.html
Astronomy Wed, 09 May 2018 09:10:17 EDTnews445068639Animals bred in captivity found to undergo internal physical changesA team of researchers from the University of Wollongong and the University of New South Wales has found that some wild animals undergo internal physical changes when bred in captivity. In their paper published in the journal Royal Society Open Science, the group describes experiments they conducted on captive mice and what they found.https://phys.org/news/2018-05-animals-bred-captivity-internal-physical.html
Plants & Animals Wed, 09 May 2018 08:40:02 EDTnews445073082Bridgehead effect found to be a major driver for invasive species infestationsA team of researchers from Switzerland, France and New Zealand has found evidence suggesting that the bridgehead effect is a major driver for invasive species infections. In their paper published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the group describes their study of global alien ant spread and how they believe it has come about.https://phys.org/news/2018-05-bridgehead-effect-major-driver-invasive.html
Ecology Tue, 08 May 2018 09:29:11 EDTnews444990531